


Under the Stars

by ayybeary



Category: Free!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Bad Puns, Boys Kissing, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, First Dates, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, kiss on the beach, picnic on the beach
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-17
Updated: 2015-11-17
Packaged: 2018-05-02 01:20:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5228453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayybeary/pseuds/ayybeary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin and Rei's first date: a picnic on the beach under the stars. Written for a prompt on tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Under the Stars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mintly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mintly/gifts).



“Our first date is a picnic on a beach under the stars?”

The sun long since set in Iwatobi, but the full moon and the stars in the sky illuminated the shoreline, even though it was only just after seven o’clock. The icy water nipped at Rin as he stood ankle-deep in the tide, and he enjoyed the feeling of the cold, wet sand between his toes. His shoes sat abandoned next to the blanket Rei laid out.

“Have you swallowed a romance novel? Do I need to call a doctor?”

Rin turned his back to the ocean and grinned at Rei. Rei sat down on the blanket, cross-legged, and crossed his arms. Even in his knit sweater and long jeans, Rei shivered against the Autumn sea wind.

“Swallowing a book would be rather ineffective,” he pointed out rather grumpily, “not to mention uncomfortable. I’d rather our first date not be a trip to an emergency room.” Rei leaned over to the picnic basket to pull out a bottle of oolong tea. “Besides, I thought you might like… something like this,” he mumbled.

Rin kicked at the wet sand and looked away. His cheeks felt warm and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Y-yeah, it’s fine, I guess. For a first date.” He put his hands in his jacket pockets and moved towards the blanket. “Sets some pretty high standards, though. You should’ve just taken me to Starbucks and asked me about my major like a normal person.”

Rin sat down on the blanket, knowing full well doing such a thing would have been useless. Rei had known him for a few years, asking him about his favorite color and how many siblings he had would be redundant. Rei, however, turned pink as if he hadn’t even considered something so mundane. Rin’s heart skipped a beat. Of course Rei would choose something so outlandish for a first date. He wanted it to be as perfect and romantic as Rin did; he even brought a glass vase and a fake bouquet of roses.

“What’s your major, Rin-san?” Rei mumbled. He uncapped the tea and took a drink to swallow his nerves. Rin laughed, and he crossed his legs and leaned back on his hands.

“Elementary education,” Rin stated. “I can’t major in swimming. Athletes usually retire really young, too. I’d get bored just sitting around living off of sponsor deals, and I love kids, so why not, right?”

Rei’s eyes softened with a smile. He knew Rin was an education major, of course, just like Rin knew his major. He knew Rin liked kids, even if he was wary of being a parent. He also knew Rin would make an incredible teacher, seeing as he never half-assed anything and was incredibly passionate and sincere.

“This is where you’re supposed to tell me your major, speedo glasses.” Rei startled out of his thoughts to see Rin smiling slyly at him, those sharp teeth almost glinting in the moonlight. Rei cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. He pulled out Rin’s bottle of Pocket Sweat and handed it to him.

“Astronomy,” he answered. “With a minor in English. You already knew this, though.”

Rin opened his bottle and took a gulp. “Yeah, but I still had to ask in the spirit of the first date, of course. Although, you’ve never told me why you picked astronomy. Let me guess.” Rin stuck his nose in the air and pretended to adjust glasses on his nose. In his best Rei impression, he said, “The stars are beautiful, Rin-san.”

Rei turned bright red at the impression, and he sputtered. “That—“ He looked over to Rin, who started laughing. Rei sighed and motioned for Rin to come sit by him. After Rin shuffled over, Rei laid down on the blanket and Rin followed suit. Rei raised his arm to point at the stars above them. Rin shuffled closer so that their shoulders and heads touched, and Rei felt his heart skip a beat.

“You see that pattern of stars across the sky? The one that almost looks like a smear?”

Rin looked to where his finger pointed, and sure enough, he could see it.

“Yeah, that’s the Milky Way, right?”

“Right.” Rei lowered his arm, and he felt the warmth from Rin’s arm as it sat so painfully, blissfully close by. “That’s what the rest of the galaxy looks like to us, since we’re on the outer edge. Millions and billions of stars, hundreds of thousands of light years away, but still in our system. They’re millions of years old, and they’re so far away, but they still shine so bright in our night sky, and they make such a beautiful pattern.”

Rin laughed. It was breathy and gentle, and it made Rei’s heart swell. “There’s the beautiful.”

Rei chuckled. “Yes, well. The science part is interesting, too. We can figure out how old or young those stars are, how hot or cold, and how far away they are, just by looking at them. There’s some mathematics involved, but… We can figure out so much about these faraway stars just by watching them. Isn’t that amazing?”

Rei turned to look at Rin, to confirm that he was still paying attention. He didn’t expect Rin to be looking back at him.

“Rin-san?”

“You’re amazing, Rei.”

Rei’s eyes widened and he felt his face heat up. If he were in an anime, steam would definitely be pouring out his ears. “What—“

Rin’s own cheeks were red and warm as he moved his hand to lace their fingers together. They both smiled at each other, and both of their hearts beat roughly against their chests.

“You’re just… so smart, Rei. You’re so polite, and—and caring. You’re just… amazing.”

Rei felt like his breath caught in his throat, and he opened his mouth to attempt to return the compliments.

“Maybe I should say you’re aREIzing, though.”

Rin and Rei started at each other for a solid second, nothing but the sound of the waves between them. Suddenly they both began laughing, unable to hold back. All the embarrassment and the tension blew out with one simple pun, and it was so silly that it was perfect. When their laughter died down, they turned back to look at each other.

There was another tense moment as they just looked at each other. Rei looked into Rin’s eyes, amazed at how warm and red they were even in the dark autumn night. Rin glanced down to Rei’s lips, and before he could change his mind, leaned in.

The kiss was everything both of them wanted. Rei couldn’t believe how gentle Rin’s somewhat-chapped lips felt against his. He couldn’t get over how warm they were, and how even though it didn’t taste like anything, it still tasted like Rin. Rin adored how soft Rei’s lips were, and how wonderfully they pressed against his own. The kiss was over too quickly, and they both pulled back with light breaths.

After a few seconds, the situation caught up to them full-force and they started laughing again.

“Oi, why are you laughing, Rei!?”

“I should be asking you that, Rin-san!”

“Knock it off with the –san already, will you, we’re boyfriends!”

“I understand!”

They kept laughing until their stomachs hurt, but they left their hands intertwined. It was only the first date, the first kiss, but with it came the promise of many, many more. As their laughter died down once again, both men looked to the sky and the stars above. As they stared, they both felt like they knew exactly where in the universe they belonged.

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on tumblr at ayybeary!
> 
> Let me know what you think!! Thank you for reading~  
> Obviously I love really cheesy and sappy endings....


End file.
